Themba Ben Mtwazi
I’m a product of the 80s, born and bred in post independence Zimbabwe. My father was a small time, self taught screen printer, pop artist and a partisan of Andy Warhol and his movement. Growing up surrounded by bottles of ink and stencils; music and graffiti; third world norms and politics; these life encounters of craft and societal barriers somehow merged to become the design of infrastructure – Architecture
Why did you chose KSA?
KSA for me was a no-brainer; a fairly new school just over 5 years old at the time, already sitting at number 6 on the architecture league tables…… I had to find out what the secret was.
What are you working on at the moment?
There are a few things which I am working on at the moment:
– Faversham creek revitalisation project, Faversham, Uk
– 39 Llewelyn road cottage design, Gweru, Zimbabwe
– Third article for the RIBA blogs (for the first two follow the links below)
http://www.ribablogs.com/?p=9385
http://www.ribablogs.com/?p=9362
– recently completed poster designs on HIV Criminalisation for the Denialism and Human rights conference recently held at Maastritch University, Netherlands
Which building or architect has the greatest influence on your work?
I think architecture is a journey of discovery, it’s like a tour in a foreign town, with what’s lying round the bend totally unknown. I guess until I can say I have encountered ‘every’ architect’s/designer’s work in the world, shall I able to say I have found that ‘ONE’; but so far I am intrigued by Peter Zumthor, Santiago Calatrava and Renzo Piano’s work.
What advice would you give someone embarking on an architectural degree?
A drawing or a sketch is the picture of one’s latent thoughts.The trick to being a good design student lies in how you are able to express and manipulate an idea on a physical piece of paper.